Wahhhh …. wahhhhhhh ….I don’t understand what’s happening? Last week I lost two of my followers and today I lost another one. I’ve lost three of my followers. I am so sad, I feel like crying. What’s happening. Don’t people like me and my shop any more?

Now now …. stop crying Blissed. You’re a very nice person. Much nicer than me and Pissed. It isn’t because people don’t like you or your shop. Being “followed” doesn’t mean YOU or your SHOP is being followed …

I don’t understand. Aren’t they following ME and my shop? I thought they liked me and my shop and wanted to see when I post something new in my shop … I don’t understand ??????

Followers are just another Etsy trick. Etsy wants everyone to feel busy and active so they make up foolish little games so people will favorite and heart and re-favorite, which is the silliest of all. And they added “Followers” so you could have another number to check up on and so you’d feel important when you got Followers even if you had no sales for weeks. Followers don’t follow you or your shop, they just get a notice every time you favorite someone else.

Hi … Pissed here. I can’t just sit here and keep silent. I hate Followers. I’d like to block them. It’s like you giving publicity to someone else when you favorite their item or shop. You don’t get anything from being “followed” Nothing. NADA. ZILCH

Aw … that’s really kind of mean. I always thought these people really liked ME and my shop. I didn’t realize that they were just following me around. I’m SO disapppointed. I had 45 followers. Now I have 42. If they liked my favorites why did they stop following me?

Okay Blissed. Here’s what’s really happening. Most of the people who follow you don’t understand that Following is a trick Just like you, they really think they’re favoriting YOU Most of them really DO like your shop. But when they see all the things you heart and favorite, jamming up their activities box, they are first puzzled, then confused and finally very angry. When they find out the truth, very often they’ll “un-follow” you because they don’t want to keep getting all that spam

When people go to their activity box, they’re hoping for a notice of being included in a Treasury List Most of them don’t care what other people like or favorite. And they get disapppointed when all they see is more and more of other people’s stuff in their activities. And then they un-favorite you. It has nothing to do with YOU They’re angry when they find out Etsy has tricked them into accepting all that stuff in their activity box They’re MAD. At Etsy Not you.

That’s so mean. I can’t believe Etsy would trick people like this. I’m very hurt and disappointed. I only followed two shops, so I didn’t get so many links in my activities. But I used to wonder why those things were there sometimes. Now I know. I won’t follow anyone again. Because then the stuff they favorite will take over my activity feeds. So I’ll just keep favoriting their shop if I really like them and really want to see their own listings …. am I right?

You are absolutely right. DO “Favorite” shops … to see their new items if you’re interested. NEVER “Follow” a shop or you’ll just get spammed with their favorites Now stop crying and feeling sad, Most of the people who “followed” you probably really liked your shop and they just got tricked. Most of us fell for this trick. Now stop crying, Blissed. And stop worrying about losing Followers. You really haven’t lost a thing.

Heh heh heh … You wanna get back at Etsy for this stupid crappy trick. Just go to your profile page, Click onto your Followers … then you’ll get a nice list of them. Click onto their profile and you’ll find a “block this user in very small letters. Just click and they’ll be blocked from following you. Actually this is just to screw up Etsy. It doesn’t matter to you one bit whether they follow your meandering around Etsy or not.

Aw come ON Pissed. That’s just being vindictive. At least Blissed gets those Followers on her page and they make her look popular. Let her get something out of this scam. No sense to cut off your nose to spite your face eh? Just leave them there. Might as well get some benefits from them.

Thanks SO much guys. I feel a lot better now. Now I know why I’m losing those followers and that it has nothing to do with ME. I’ll take Muted’s advice and just leave them there. Might as well have them make my shop “look active.” But I do feel a little cheated by Etsy. They make us all behave and react stupidly. I’m beginning to feel angry.

It’s an Etsy scam. Obviously many people believe they’re “following” the shop and that shop’s products. And that gives everyone the illusion of “activity”. Until at some point the “follower” realizes they’re being spammed with all that extra crap in their activities. box. And if they can locate the “unfollow” button …. they’ll use it.

It is a ridiculous sham and makes NO sense whatsoever. And it has clearly been designed by Etsy to foster an illusion of being “active”.